Feb 19 Wedding Food Trucks

Monday again! Yey! We're starting the week with a bit of wedding advice and inspiration on food trucks at weddings.

While I was away travelling, I passed many street food stalls and ate about 100 empanadas (a South American pasty). It made me realise what a fab idea it is to have street food at your wedding. So here we are, a few ideas and tips on how to incorporate food trucks or stalls into your unique wedding day.

Food trucks are becoming a growing trend for wedding catering and I totally see why it's here to stay.

When you walk down the streets in Bangkok, Singapore, Peru, or even Leeds or London, the hustle and bustle that surrounds these places is electric. The sizzle and smell of fresh food, the chaotic cooking in a small space all add theatre to the culinary experience. So why not recreate that buzz around your wedding day catering.

I believe there is a place for a food truck or cart in any style of wedding simply due to the variety of passionate caterers available. From a classic popcorn cart to gourmet seafood truck, the possibilities are endless. To help you with a little inspiration here are three ways to use alternative catering on your wedding day.

Option 1 - Drinks Reception

The time after the wedding ceremony is usually 'make or break' with guests. It's usually the time you go off with your wedding photographer for a couple of (hundred) photos, leaving your guests to be entertained by drinks and (much needed) canapés. This would be the perfect time to use a mobile bar or snack stand to add more theatre and interaction. A gin bath, a prosecco van or even a Mexican taco truck are all amazing options. Teaming with lawn games and an acoustic guitar playing in the background would truly be something to remember and totally add that extra wow factor. Your wedding guests won't even realise you've gone for photos.

Option 2 - The Wedding Breakfast

If you want to break the boundaries and keep the wedding breakfast casual, you could adopt festival style catering and have multiple food trucks that offer different cuisines and therefore give guests a delicious choice. Long benches and tables would suit this style of dining, perfect for an outdoor, marquee, or tipi wedding. If you are considering this catering option, consider food and drink tokens to give to guests so they don't go crazy and you can keep an eye on costs and budget depending on how the catering vendors operate and charge. These tokens could be designed to suit the theme of the rest of your stationery or you could have fun with golden tickets! Make it different and unique to you.

Option 3 - Evening Reception Food

Going back to the image of street markets around the world, these places come to life mainly in the evening offering food freshly prepared or caught that day prepared with smoke rising under the makeshift lights. A food truck to serve evening snacks is the perfect option for brides and grooms who prefer a traditional, more formal wedding breakfast but a more casual, indie vibe in the evening. The ideas for this are endless and I love how couples can go crazy in what they offer on their wedding day.

Here's a little food for thought (there are so many more too):

• Fish and chip cones

• Pizza slices

• Toasties

• Thai curry pots

• Pie and peas

• Bacon butties

• Kebabs

• Mexican street food

• Mac and cheese

• Gourmet hotdogs or mini burger sliders

My advice would be to serve small portions in an almost tapas style. This way, guests who may still be full from the wedding breakfast earlier in the day can have a nibble or graze without being too full to hit the dance floor!

Other Advice and Tips

1. Consider the space at the venue where the trucks will be located. They often take up more space than you think and will need access to the perfect spot.

2. They should be positioned not far away from where guests will be mingling.

3. Food trucks may operate quite casually and won't always offer a contract so you may need to put one together yourself if you're worried about things going wrong.

4. Consider how the food will be served and bear in mind that the caterer may only provide boxes and plastic cutlery. If you want something more substantial there may be an additional cost or you may have to supply them yourself. Communicate with the caterer for the solution.

5. You may need multiple trucks depending on your guest numbers. No one wants to wait for ages to be fed. Impatient, hungry wedding guests are never good.

I hope you've found this blog post helpful and it inspires you to break the boundaries when deciding on food for your wedding day. Let's make food truck catering at weddings a trend here to stay. With just a few logistics to get around, they're totally worth it.

Get in touch if you would like to find out more about organising food trucks for your wedding day. There are some amazing suppliers out there to make your day truly unique and something you and your guests will talk about for years to come.

I own a wedding planning and styling business Emily K Weddings and love all things weddings, travel and design. After living in London for 6 years I’ve now returned to my humble roots in Yorkshire where I truly belong. As a former Interior Designer, I have a passion for design and anything pretty. I’m also a huge fan of a plan and a total geek when it comes to the details.

I can’t cope without a strong coffee on a morning and a good gin on a weekend (OK, a Thursday)! I’m excited to be part of the And So To Wed team and can’t wait to see where the wonderful world weddings takes us all this year. Emily x

I own a wedding planning and styling business Emily K Weddings and love all things weddings, travel and design. After living in London for 6 years I’ve now returned to my humble roots in Yorkshire where I truly belong. As a former Interior Designer, I have a passion for design and anything pretty. I’m also a huge fan of a plan and a total geek when it comes to the details.

I can’t cope without a strong coffee on a morning and a good gin on a weekend (OK, a Thursday)! I’m excited to be part of the And So To Wed team and can’t wait to see where the wonderful world weddings takes us all this year. Emily x